Forming Virtue Through Books 📖


Hey Reader,

Here at the Read-Aloud Revival, we’ve been asked more times than I can count to create virtue-based book lists. And I always say no.

But it's not because I don't believe books can build virtue in our kids. So today on the show, I invited Audrey, our Creative Director, back with me to talk about why we don’t make lists of books that specifically set out to teach kids about kindness, honesty, or other virtues.

The reality is, all good books have a powerful capacity to inspire us towards virtue, and the ones that are the most effective are the ones that don’t set out to teach. They just set out to tell a good story. Good stories, by their nature, form us in virtue.

We’re going to talk about what makes a story formational and share some of our favorite books that have been formative in our family.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

  • Why learning virtue doesn’t need a lesson plan or bullet points and can even be delightful
  • How stories invite us into the experiences of others with all their human strengths and weaknesses
  • The guiding question behind every book recommendation we make at RAR

Listen to the episode:​ Our Favorite Reads for Forming Virtue in Our Kids

You can also watch the episode on YouTube here.

xo, Sarah Mackenzie

Read-Aloud Revival

For homeschooling mamas who want their whole family to fall in love with books. Join 135,000 email subscribers, and get Sarah Mackenzie's best tips and book recommendations in your inbox each week.

Read more from Read-Aloud Revival

Hey Reader, Why do we write, anyway? Over the past few months on the podcast, we’ve talked a lot about how reading aloud benefits kids academically, how it develops their resilience, empathy, and virtue, and even reduces physiological stress. Today on the show, we’re diving into the flip side of reading: writing. Without writing, we’d have no stories to read. But creating books to share with others isn’t the only reason why writing is so important. In this episode, Audrey and I talk about...

Hi Reader, Books are so much more than just a collection of words. They are lanterns that illuminate our lives in so many incredible ways. Today, I want to share a story with you about a group of women who also believed in the power of books to transform lives. So much so, that they were willing to endure quite a lot of hardship to get books into the hands of people who otherwise wouldn’t have had access to them during a difficult period of American history. In this episode, I’m talking with...

Sarah with her big kids

Hi Reader, In the email I sent you earlier this week, I mentioned that when I first heard the phrase "teach from a state of rest," I was equally intrigued and skeptical. The idea that it might be possible to homeschool with unshakable peace and real, true, joy sounded...thrilling. Also: impossible. 😅 I'll remind you of what life looked like for me back then: Nothing about my life reminded me of "rest" or "peace." So let's define some terms, shall we? REST, for example. Ever heard of it? 😆...